


Ravaging Madness

by zephakitara



Category: Sorcerous Stabber Orphen
Genre: Angst, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Drama, Hurt!Cleo, Hurt!Majic, Hurt!Orphen, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28670385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zephakitara/pseuds/zephakitara
Summary: Orphen struggles to stay alive, but it seems impossible. Majic wishes everything that is happening is just a dream. Cleo hopes things will return to normal, although that might need a miracle to happen.
Relationships: Orphen & Cleao Everlasting & Majic Lin
Kudos: 3





	1. I Call Thee, Sisters of Destruction

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted on FanFiction in January 2020.

He had lived a not-so-ordinary life for more than two decades, and for all he knew, in that two decades he had probably gone through more pain than anyone. He thought he had gone through and survived the ultimate pain and torture at one point or another. He thought there was nothing he couldn't handle. After all, he had tasted the worst.

Or so he thought.

In the midst of the sound of the heavy clinking chains, Orphen screamed like he had never screamed before in his life, his bloodied body convulsed violently, his tortured howls reverberated in the cold, dark nothingness he was mysteriously restrained in. His weakened limbs, chained to whatever there was lurking in the darkness, struggled desperately to get free. Orphen's cries of agony echoed continuously, his frayed voice peaking more often than not as he endured unimaginable pain coursing throughout his body, and it was all he could do not to pass out and let himself be devoured by the darkness.

_I need to get the fuck out of here!_

But Orphen didn't have any clue where 'here' was, or how he even got there. He couldn't remember anything that happened immediately before he found himself chained in the darkness. He couldn't see much in the dark or through the ominous fog surrounding him, but he could very well tell just by the air and the atmosphere that he was in a strange, malevolent place. It was like he was in the worst nightmare he could ever imagine. Nothing felt concrete except for the iron shackles holding him in place.

He threw his head back violently in sudden shock and new pain, a gasp escaping his blood-drenched lips when the agony of his torments increased, the flow of air to his lungs cut for a very long second, leaving him breathless, panting, his heart threatening to stop. Maybe he should just let it stop. That would be a better option than having to bear this insane torture. His whole body, his skin and flesh felt like they had been pierced again and again mercilessly with numerous sharp things for more than a thousand times now. What they were; needles, nails, daggers, Orphen couldn't really tell or care. He wasn't even sure if they were real. All he was aware of at the moment was the constant excruciating pain enveloping his slowly dying body. He felt his mind shutting down, but he couldn't allow that to happen. He knew that the moment he let his mind go, that would be the end of him.

Orphen bit down on his lower lip until it bled, tasting the copper on his tongue, letting the fresh blood flow and mingle with the rest of his blood that had been pouring out of his mouth from the tortures.

And that was enough. That did the trick, even if it was just a little.

The self-inflicted injury caused him to feel pain that was slightly different from the ones from his tortures; it felt twistedly welcoming, and it was enough to inject some sanity into his numbing, spiraling mind. Orphen bit harder into his bleeding lip, gnashing the soft flesh unforgivingly, trying to ignore the pain as he endured another round of sharp things shredding his flesh and skin. In that short moment of sanity where his mind cleared up, in his gradually fading vision, he saw ghosts, familiar shadows, of two people beckoning him; a blond girl and a blond boy.

'Cleo… Majic…'

Their names sounded so foreign in his ragged, tortured voice.

Orphen struggled against his shackles weakly as he tried to reach for them, feeling himself slowly giving in to death.

_No… I can't let them…_

His eyes closed against his will, his body going limp.

_No... This is not how… I…_

He definitely wouldn't let himself end like it was going to. Like hell that would happen.

But he was already slowly drifting away into unconsciousness.

.o.o.o.

'What's wrong, Majic? Too scared to watch?'

Majic shivered at the sound of that menacing, blood-curdling voice hissing in his ear. He clamped his already shut eyes tighter, not willing to see the craziness unfolding in front of him. He couldn't understand it.

_How could all this be happening?_

He wished it was just a bad dream he was having after eating one of Cleo's deathly gruesome dishes, but he knew it was not. It felt too real to be something that his mind had just concocted in his sleep. He would rather have a thousand helpings and more of Cleo's toxic cooking if that would make what was happening at the moment just a crazy nightmare.

Majic tried to shift his body but to no avail. He was frozen to the spot with his back and arms flat against a rock, the result of a powerful binding spell.

'Open your damn eyes, Majic.'

It disturbed him, that voice.

It was a familiar voice, a voice he had known for years now, and to hear it like that; twisted and laced with evil Majic could barely fathom; it was disturbing. It was heartbreaking.

'I _said_ open your damn _eyes_ , my dear Majic. I know you've regained consciousness since a while ago.'

True. Even through the constant ringing in his ears, Majic was aware of what was happening around him since hundreds of heartbeats ago. He had lost consciousness from the big blast that had come without warning, that had apparently destroyed their camp, and when he came to he found himself immobilized by magic. But his eyes refused to open, as if by not seeing the reality that was happening in front of him, he could pretend that all of it was not happening.

Majic gasped, opening his eyes wide in reflex when he felt the cold tip of a dagger feather-tracing the skin underneath his right eye. A moment later, he felt his skin break and warm blood started to trickle down his cheek. He should have screamed, struggled from the cut and the fear, but his confused, messed up mind hardly registered the pain.

The bright noon sun momentarily blinded him before his blurry eyes slowly got into focus, and he saw a blond girl that he knew all too well not more than ten paces away from him, hanging from a tree. Majic's heart almost stopped at that sight of her, his cloudy eyes playing tricks on his sicken mind, making him see her hang by the neck for a moment. But much to his relief, she was not. Her arms were stretched above her head, her hands tied together as she hung from a tree branch, the tips of her toes barely touching the ground. Her head hung low as blood dripped from her temple where pieces of debris had hit her when their camp was blasted away into bits.

'Cleo!' Majic shrieked in panic when he saw the terrible sight of his travel companion, tugging at his immobilized body, forcing it to move. 'Cleo! Are you alright?! Please tell me you're alright!'

Majic froze when once again he felt the cool tip of the dagger on his skin.

'Now, now, Majic. Don't get yourself excited,' the voice said from beside him.

Majic felt the bloodied point of the dagger being traced down his cheek, before it was brought to the wielder's mouth, a tongue sticking out to lick the blood off it.

Majic eyes followed the dagger, and he felt his body shiver again in fear, in disappointment, in confusion, when he saw the twisted, gleeful face of the man licking away his blood.

'No…'

When all this chaos started, Majic couldn't believe it. He _refused_ to believe it.

The man standing in front of him wouldn't do something like this to him and Cleo, no matter how annoying they were to him. This was impossible. But it was happening.

It was really happening.

'Master…' he choked.

His eyes were starting to water. He wasn't sure if it was from the pain finally registering in his brain or from the disappointment in his heart.

'What happened to you? Why are you doing this to us? Get back to your senses!'

The dark-haired sorcerer dropped the hand that was holding the dagger to his side, his russet eyes glaring at his young apprentice. With deliberate slowness, he bent over Majic so that they were seeing eye-to-eye before he roughly grabbed a handful of Majic's sandy blond locks, knocking the back of his head hard against the rock behind him.

Majic whimpered. He could feel something warm and sticky oozing out from the back of his head.

 _'What happened to me?'_ Orphen repeated his apprentice's words in a low, threatening voice. 'Nothing fucking _happened_ to me, Majic.'

He gave him an evil smirk, making Majic's skin crawl. The boy shut his eyes in terrible fear when Orphen came close and he felt his master's tongue on his skin, licking the trickle of blood underneath his right eye. It was absurd, but Orphen's tongue seared Majic's skin like hot iron.

'Ah, I didn't know your blood tastes so sweet, Majic,' Orphen said as he released his tight hold on Majic's hair, licking away the blood on his lips, looking not much different from a crazed, blood-lusting wild animal spotting an easy prey.

Orphen caressed the sharp edge of his dagger with a finger.

'You know what, Majic?' he said, his eyes locked on the pointed tip of the dagger. 'I lied to you. Something _did_ happen to me.'

He smiled, where only one side of his mouth curved upwards, a look that left Majic feeling unsettled. He wanted to run away so badly from this Orphen who had lost his mind.

'I had an awakening, Majic. I realize now what I should be doing. I realize now what I have always wanted to _do_ to you fucking little weaklings.'

Majic stared at Orphen, not making any sense of his master's words as the sorcerer shifted his evil gaze to where Cleo was. The look on his face sent shivers down Majic's frozen spine.

'Master… what… please… why are you…'

Orphen glared at Majic, the look in his eyes so different from what Majic was used to seeing. It was as if he was staring up into a stranger's eyes.

'Shut the fuck up and stay here like the good boy you are, Majic.'

The boy started to struggle violently when he realized that Orphen was heading for Cleo.

'Master, no! Leave her alone! Leave Cleo alone! Master!'

_Why is this happening? Everything was fine this morning!_

Majic started sobbing as he watched his master walking away from him, towards the helpless Cleo.

' _I'll be back before you know it.'_

That was what his master had said good-naturedly, like he always did, before he left camp earlier this morning to find herbs for Cleo who had sprained her ankle the night before. He was annoyed that Cleo got herself hurt again, complaining about how it wasted his time and energy to go look for herbs, but all the same, he still went looking for them to ease Cleo's pain.

That was the Orphen Majic knew. His master was never good at showing his somewhat weird brand of affection towards others, but Majic knew that he never meant them any harm. He was brash, rude, mean, foul-mouthed, vile, arrogant, wretched, despicable and many other negative traits Majic could think of, but he was also kind, in his own way, and would never hurt his companions.

_At the very least, Master would never hurt Cleo._

That morning, more than two hours after Orphen's departure into the mountains to look for herbs, Majic had anxiously waited for his master's return as he packed the camp while ignoring Cleo's incessant complaints about what a lousy sorcerer Orphen was. He was worried. His master was never this late. Orphen had said he would be back in an hour. He would usually be back in less than an hour whenever he went herb-hunting. But he wasn't back. They still had a half-day journey towards Taflem where Orphen had grudgingly agreed to meet Hartia, his fellow classmate when they were students at the Tower of Fang. Majic wasn't quite clear why Orphen was meeting the freckled redhead sorcerer given his master's apparent dislike for Hartia's antics, but he was glad he'd get to meet him all the same. Hartia was, at least in Majic's opinion, a more conventional sorcerer than Orphen was, afterall.

Close to noon, with a sigh of relief Majic finally saw the familiar figure of his master returning to camp. But there were no herbs whatsoever in his hands, only a dagger in his fist. And there was a strange look in his eyes; a look that Majic had never seen before. It unnerved him to the core.

'Welcome back, Master…'

That was the last thing Majic remembered saying before he saw Orphen raise an outstretched arm, his fingerless-gloved hand splayed in the direction of their camp, a crooked, evil smile on his face.

'I call thee, sisters of destruction.'

And that was the last thing Majic heard; Orphen's familiar rumbling voice as he intoned the spell of destruction, before everything around him exploded, knocking him and Cleo unconscious.


	2. I Dance in Thee, Mansion of Heaven

'Cleo! Cleo! Master, don't hurt her!'

Her head was throbbing like someone was hammering their way out of her brain, and Maijc's high-pitched screaming wasn't helping one bit. Half-conscious, Cleo tried to shift her body, stretching her stiff arms and legs, and the pain she felt in her sprained ankle from the stretching jolted her awake. Her head spun as she looked up through slits of her eyes at her tied hands anchored to the tree branch, and then down at her feet, her toes only brushing the ground.

_What the hell? What's going on?_

'Wakey, wakey, highness.'

Cleo flinched at the sound of that familiar voice, at how twisted it spoke those words. She lifted her head slowly and saw Orphen striding his way towards her. She couldn't help noticing the bloodied dagger glancing off the afternoon sun in his hand and her mind immediately went to her younger travel companion.

_Majic!_

She looked around frantically for the blond boy, fearing the worst, before her eyes took in the sight of him spread eagle against a rock not far from her, a look of pure terror in his wide green eyes as he struggled against the binding spell Orphen had cast on him. Cleo looked at the sorcerer still coming closer to her, and the memory of what happened just before she had lost consciousness came rushing back. She remembered in horror the exact moment she saw Orphen raise his arm and uttered a spell she had never thought would be directed at them by the sorcerer.

_Orphen… what's gotten into him?!_

'How was your sleep, Cleo?' Orphen asked as he stood in front of her, his hand reaching up to her temple, twisting a lock of her golden curls around his long finger. 'Did you have a nice, sweet dream?'

Cleo flinched, letting out a hiss when his fingers brushed her temple, finally noticing the wound there and the streak of blood running down the side of her face. No wonder her head felt like hell. She stared up at the sorcerer who was looking at her with an amused look on his face.

It pissed her off so much.

'Are you messing with me, Orphen?' she said aggressively, forgetting that she couldn't do anything to him and he could do anything to her in her current state. 'Let me go right now! This isn't funny, you crazy charlatan!'

In a flash, Orphen grabbed Cleo's jaw harshly with one hand, forcing her to look at him with wide scared eyes as she whimpered, helplessly trying to get away from him.

'What a sweet little mouth you have, Cleo. I've always wondered how you'd look like with your lips sewed together.'

She cowered when he brushed a thumb across her lower lip. The things he said made her tremble in fear, and for once, she was too scared to say a retort like she usually would whenever they had a fight. No, this was no ordinary fight like the ones they used to have. This was different. Everything that came out of Orphen's mouth was a threat. He meant every single one of them. He meant harm.

Orphen slowly brought the dagger in his other hand to Cleo's neck, and the sharp edge of the blade very slowly sank into her skin. Cleo shut her eyes tight, feeling the cool blade heavy against her neck, trying not to scream out loud and give the crazy sorcerer the satisfaction he was seeking. She let out a shuddering breath as blood started to trickle down to her collarbone.

'Orphen…' Cleo rasped, her voice shaking like a leaf, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. 'Please, stop this madness.'

She stared at him in amazement when Orphen pulled the dagger away from her neck without a word.

_He got back to his senses!_

She breathed out a sigh of relief but it quickly turned into a shrieking gasp when Orphen grabbed her shoulder painfully, his fingers digging into her flesh as he leaned into her and started licking her neck before sucking away her blood from the cut.

'Wha-? Stop! Orphen! No!'

Cleo started to scream in earnest when she felt a great jolting pain in her neck. Orphen was biting her hard, gnawing at her soft flesh, ravaging her. He was like a wild animal. He was slowly turning into a beast, a mindless beast lusting for blood, a monster who had lost all of his sanity.

Cleo struggled to get free but all she managed to do was dance hopelessly by the rope that held her in place.

'Please, Orphen… Don't do this to me… Don't do this… to yourself...' she said in between sobs.

No matter how much she thought she hated the sorcerer, how vile he was, she had always believed that he wouldn't do this kind of thing to his companions. He wouldn't hurt them like this.

Orphen stopped sucking her blood, his grip on her loosening as he stepped back from her. This time, Cleo could only pray that he had got back to his senses.

One look at him and she knew.

Her hopes were crushed when she saw the crazed look in his eyes.

'What's wrong, darling? Don't you like it? I've always thought you had a thing for me,' Orphen said with a laugh, wiping the smeared blood on his chin with the back of his hand. He started to deftly flip the dagger in his hand right in front of Cleo's horrified face.

'Should I suck more? Or maybe you prefer licking to sucking? Or maybe…' he stopped flipping the dagger and swiftly placed it back on her neck. '… I should make the cut deeper.'

Cleo shook her head slowly, trying to ignore the feeling of the blade cutting into her.

'Orphen, this is not you…' she said slowly, her voice trembling.

She stared deep into his dark eyes, searching for that familiar glimmer of annoyance he always had in them whenever he looked at her. But it wasn't there. All she could see was just wretchedness. Cleo clenched her tied hands into fists weakly, determined to get some sense back into this crazy sorcerer standing in front of her.

'Who are you?' Cleo said with all the conviction she could muster, trying to hide the great fear inside of her and to inject some authority into her wavering voice. 'Tell me _who_ are you?' she said again, stronger this time. 'Get out of him right now!'

To her surprise, Orphen started laughing, but it was a chilling laugh that could ice a bonfire.

'What are you saying, princess? You think there's a stupid ghost, an evil spirit possessing me?' he chuckled like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. 'No, no, no. How wrong you are, highness. This is all–' and Orphen made an exaggerated, grandiose gesture with his arms, indicating his whole body before flashing Cleo a crazed smile, 'me.'

Cleo stared at him in disbelief, shaking her head slowly.

'Yes, Cleo. This is all _me_. Nothing is taking over me. Nothing is controlling me. This is the _true_ me.'

He turned around to look at Majic who was watching them in silent horror from where he was kept paralyzed.

'Did you guys know that I've always wanted to hurt you both? Like, really badly?' Orphen asked casually as if he was asking about the weather while he admired the dagger in his hand, slicking away the blood on it with a finger before licking it.

Cleo shuddered at what she was seeing Orphen do, at his chilling words. She couldn't believe them. Orphen… he was not like that. Something must have happened to him when he had gone to the mountains to look for herbs this morning.

'Oh, I almost forgot,' Orphen said in a cheerful manner that made Cleo's blood run cold. 'I have something _really_ good for you two.'

He took out a small battered leather bottle from inside his jacket and pulled out the stopper with his teeth. Cleo gasped when she saw the carnivorous fangs protruding from Orphen's mouth. No wonder she was in so much pain when he bit her neck. Heck, she could still feel them sinking into her flesh.

'This is a very precious thing I have here,' Orphen said as he slushed around the liquid in the leather bottle. 'You two,' he pointed in turn at the trembling Cleo and the paralyzed Majic with his dagger, 'should be grateful to me for bringing this back for you to taste.'

Cleo stared, trying hard to comprehend everything.

_Bring back? From where?_

Orphen spilled two drops of the liquid onto the grass at his feet. There was a hissing sound, and to Cleo and Majic's horror, the grass turned grey, crumbling away like they were made of fine ash.

'Master! Why do you have such a thing?!' Majic screamed, incredulous, his high-pitched voice echoing throughout the forest.

'Why? Don't you like it, Majic? This is the perfect thing for me to use on you,' Orphen paused and turned around to look at Cleo, 'and on you too, highness, of course. Don't worry, I'm not forgetting you.'

The sorcerer proceeded to cast a quiet spell on his dagger before washing the blade with the liquid from the leather bottle.

'You won't die from this wonderful liquid,' Orphen continued talking as if he was telling a heartwarming story. 'It's not that strong, not that potent. See, I've cast a spell on my dagger and it does nothing to it. But look.'

He touched the tip of his leather glove to the dagger and the small area where the glove touched the soaked blade started to hiss and turned to ash.

'Impressive, isn't it?' Orphen said with a sly smile on his twisted face. 'So, who wants to go first? What about you, Everlasting?'

Cleo shivered when he said her last name like that. Frantically, she tried to free herself when she saw Orphen advancing towards her with that dagger held fast in his hand.

'Don't be scared, Cleo. I won't let you die from this. I'm just going to hurt you a _little teeny tiny bit_ , that's all. I'll even let you choose which part of your body you want me to stick this dagger into.'

'Stay away from me!' Cleo screamed desperately as tears flowed rapidly down her face.

'You can't choose? That is so typical of you, Cleo. Oh well, I guess I'll have to choose for you, then,' Orphen said as he stood in front of her, the gaze of his eyes roamed her helpless body before it settled on her face.

'Your eyes then. They're so fucking blue and beautiful I just want to destroy them.'

He brought the poison-soaked dagger up to Cleo's face.

'So which one should I scoop out first, honey? Right, or left?' He held her chin with his fingers, forcing her to look at him with the dagger just a hair away from her face.

'You fucking charlatan! I said _get away_ from me!' Cleo screamed again and spat on his face.

Time seemed to have stop itself there for moment.

Orphen stood still as if he had become a statue. Then, he slowly touched where Cleo had spat on him and stared at her with fury simmering in his eyes.

'Bitch, I'll teach that sweet little mouth of yours a lesson.'

Without mercy, Orphen grabbed Cleo's jaw roughly, hard enough to leave bruises on her face for days and kissed, or more accurately, devoured the helpless girl savagely, violently, sucking the air out of her lungs, crudely pushing his tongue into her mouth, exploring it without her consent.

Cleo struggled desperately to get free, trying to stay conscious. Orphen was devouring her _hard_ , violating her mouth, not giving her any chance to breathe properly, leaving her breathless to the point of almost fainting. He was ravaging her like a wild beast. He _was_ a wild beast. She felt his fangs as they harassed her tongue and lips, making them bleed. She had to stop him. She had to do something. Somewhere in the background, she could hear Majic screaming for his master to stop what he was doing.

Cleo jolted with a loud moan when she felt Orphen's tongue thrashing deeper into her mouth. And that was the moment when she bit his tongue hard. She had had enough! She won't let him do whatever he wanted to her any further.

Cleo knew she had hurt him enough when his tongue abruptly stopped violating her and she tasted fresh blood in her mouth.

She could finally breathe, panting, letting her head drop when Orphen stepped back slowly. She flinched when she felt his fingertips on her sore face again, only to realize that his trembling fingers were wiping away the tears flowing down her face. Cleo looked up and saw Orphen staring at her with a horrified look in his eyes, his mouth bloody with his own blood, mixed with what could only be his tears which were running down his face.

'Cleo…'

Orphen's small, wavering voice surprised Cleo so much she almost forgot her own pain.

'I'm… sorry…' he choked, his bloodshot eyes roaming about her, taking in the horrible state she was in. 'I… did this to you…'

Before Cleo could say anything back to him or even think, Orphen raised his arm and cut the rope anchoring Cleo to the tree branch with his dagger, causing her to collapse to the ground in a heap and a shriek as she barely managed to break her fall with her tied hands. And before Cleo could understand what he was doing, Orphen swiftly plunged the poison-soaked dagger into his middle, twisting it slowly as if to double the pain, as if to atone for what he had done. A pained scream escaped his bloodied mouth as the sorcerer fell to his knees, crumpling to the ground.

Everything that was happening before Cleo's shocked wide eyes seemed to unfold in slow motion.

'Orphen!' she cried as she started to crawl to get to him.

'No, Cleo! Run!' Orphen managed to yell at her, making the girl stop in her tracks in shock and terror. 'I… might not die… in time…' he said in between ragged, laboured breaths. Cleo stared at him in confusion.

'What…?'

'Majic… take her… and run… ' he said with difficulty when Majic, who was finally released from his binding spell came running towards him.

Cleo ignored his words when she realized Orphen was losing consciousness, his eyes glazing, his breathing shallow.

'No no no…' she kept on repeating as she struggled to pull Orphen onto her lap with her still tied up hands. She stared at the dagger lodged deep in Orphen's stomach, not knowing what to do.

'Majic… get help, get help!' she said frantically, remembering what the evil liquid could do to Orphen's body. 'He'll die! Oh my god! No, please. Stay with me, Orphen! Open your eyes! Oh Majic, do something, please…'

Majic, kneeling stunned by his master's side where a pool of dark blood was forming, looked up at Cleo, his eyes wide with shock.

'A… Alright…' he said uncertainly.

He hesitated for a split second, then held up his shaking hands to his master's bloody middle where the dagger was buried and intoned the healing spell.

'I heal thee, scar of the setting sun.'

Majic stayed still for about a minute after the spell was cast, just staring.

'That… that will help a little,' he finally said without much confidence. He was sure that healing spell he had just cast could do nothing about that horrible wound. He looked like a lost kitten, staring at the unmoving Orphen for a moment that felt so long, as if willing for his master to get back up and dislodge the dagger from his body.

'I… I'll go get help…' Majic stood up slowly, sounding almost unwilling to leave, as if he would never see Orphen alive again if he left.

'Stay safe, Cleo,' he said, his voice quiet, before intoning another spell.

'I dance in thee, mansion of heaven.'

And he was gone in a swirl of the wind, and only the echo of his trembling voice stayed with Cleo and the dying sorcerer in her blood-stained lap.


	3. I Heal Thee, Scar of the Setting Sun

Majic sat in the stiff wooden chair next to the nightstand, staring unseeing out of the opened window on the opposite wall of the room as he listened to the crickets sing. The night was warm, but he felt so cold inside. He glanced at the clock, which told him it was well past midnight, and then at the figure lying unconscious in the narrow bed by his side. Orphen looked so pale and lay so still that Majic couldn't help staring hard at his master's chest, just to make sure that it went up and down, up and down.

_He's still breathing, Majic. Calm down._

Majic blinked when he realized that the only sound in the room was Cleo's quiet sobbing. He had forgotten that she was there in the room too. Cleo had been so quiet, sitting unmoving in the corner hugging her knees, not saying a single thing since Hartia had brought them to Taflem from their camp in the forest that late afternoon. He felt bad for her. Even in the dimly lit room, Majic could see the red marks around Cleo's wrists from the ropes, the wound on her temple, the purpling bruises along her jaw where Orphen had grabbed her, the red lines on her neck where Orphen had cut her, the swollen, bleeding lips where Orphen had forced himself on her…

Majic shook his head quickly. Those things that his master had done to Cleo sounded so wrong. He didn't want to think about it. He let out a heavy sigh, making a mental note to cast a healing spell on Cleo when they both were not too exhausted physically and mentally. He leaned back, finally noticing the dull throbbing ache at the back of his head where Orphen had knocked him against the rock.

Majic sighed again, his eyes back on Orphen, on his bandaged torso, the white gauze stained dark with a little blood. It was a good thing that Majic had found Hartia as quickly as he did that afternoon. Hartia had said that Orphen wouldn't have any chance of surviving had they been any later. Truthfully, Majic didn't know how he had managed to teleport to exactly where Hartia was, which was outside of a flower shop where the redhead sorcerer had just stepped out with a bouquet of daisies in his hands. According to Orphen, teleportation was one of the hardest magic spells to perform and get right, let alone to master, and he had always warned Majic not to play around with it as if he got it wrong, he would pay dearly for his mistake. Majic had teleported several times under Orphen's supervision, and he thought he was not too bad at it, although he had never managed to teleport for more than a hundred yards away from his original spot.

But he couldn't explain how he had teleported so very easily that late afternoon to Taflem city which was about half a day away on carriage from their camp. And he had appeared right in front of Hartia who had stared at him from top to bottom, taking in the dazed look in Majic's eyes, the cut on his face and his bloodied collar, before dropping his daisies and grabbed the blond boy by the shoulders.

'Majic, what happened?!' Hartia had frantically asked. He could tell something was terribly wrong.

'Master, he… Master Hartia, please! You have to help him!' Majic had pleaded.

It took Hartia only a second to gather his wits before he teleported himself together with Majic to where Orphen was. Majic still couldn't understand how Hartia knew where exactly to go.

A sudden loud sob coming out of Cleo pulled Majic out of his train of thoughts. Cleo was still crying. When Majic had returned to their camp with Hartia, they found Cleo crying with Orphen lying unconscious and ashen-faced in her lap, her bloodied hands pressed around the ugly wound, repeating 'I heal thee, scar of the setting sun' over and over again like a mantra in a quivering voice.

Majic leaned forward in his chair, wanting to say something to Cleo if that would make her feel better. But before he could say anything, the door to the room opened slowly with a quiet creak.

Hartia stood in the doorway, a huge old tome cradled in his arm.

'Master Hartia! You're back!' Majic instantly got to his feet, a look of relief in his eyes. 'You were gone for hours, I was worried. I…'

Majic didn't continue with his words as he watched Hartia walk into the room. The lanky sorcerer placed the book on the nightstand with a heavy thud before checking on Orphen. He bent over his friend a little, checking the rhythm of his breathing.

'Krylancelo… has he stirred at all?' he asked quietly as he stepped back from the side of the bed.

'No… He's as still as the de…' Majic stopped himself.

_Don't say that!_

He noticed how quickly Cleo's head had shot up at his words.

Hartia let out a vocal sigh, reaching for the tome on the nightstand before proceeding to sit cross-legged on the floor next to the bed. He took out a leather string from the inside pocket of his black robe and pulled his shoulder-length hair into a messy ponytail, leaving the shorter strands framing his freckled face.

'Don't worry, Majic. He'll live. He'll be back on his feet and shouting at you in no time,' Hartia said positively, but Majic could tell that he didn't believe in his own words.

'Master Hartia, I'm so glad I managed to find you. If not…'

'Majic, it's fine. Krylancelo will be fine. He's a tough guy,' Hartia assured, this time he sounded confident. 'If there's one thing about Krylancelo that I'm certain of, he's hard to kill. He won't let himself die so easily.'

Majic looked at Hartia in the eyes, trying to find courage in them. He nodded.

'You're right,' he finally said.

His eyes shifted to the old tome Hartia had opened on the floor, revealing spotted yellowing pages, the smell of old books and mold wafted around them.

'What is this book? It looks ancient,' Majic commented, his eyes taking in the runes written painstakingly by hand. He could only understand a handful of words. The boy looked up at Hartia expectantly. 'Have you figured out what had actually happened to Master?'

The redhead sorcerer nodded.

'More or less. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but from what you and Cleo have told me, it was probably some kind of an ancient forbidden spell.'

'What? An ancient forbidden spell? But that's not possible. I thought spells like that are lost long ago?' Majic asked, puzzled. He remembered Orphen talking about it briefly when Majic stumbled upon a book about lost ancient spells in an old library.

'That's right. But… I'm sure what got Krylancelo was one of them; one of the many ancient forbidden spells that was used as a form of torture.'

'A form of torture?' a soft, tired voice said from Majic and Hartia's sides.

Cleo had suddenly appeared by the bed without either of the boys noticing, crawling quietly on her knees and hands. Her eyes were red from crying but they were wide with curiosity now.

Hartia nodded.

'Here, in this book,' he pointed a long bony finger to a paragraph in the old book, 'it says that ancient forbidden spells were usually used for torture. They didn't only torture you physically, but mentally too.' Hartia took a deep breath before continuing. 'The one that got Krylancelo, about a century ago it was a common torture spell before it was forbidden by law as it used white magic. The spell is simple. Once you are under the spell, your mind will be trapped in a dark place and it is impossible for you to find a way out. And it will make your mind trick your body in making it believe that it is being hurt again and again without end. Your body is never truly inflicted with any injury, but the pain feels real…' Hartia stopped talking as he spared the sleeping Orphen a glance.

'And the spell, it fleshes out your most terrible side. Even if you've had a fleeting thought of killing your own brother just because he annoys you sometimes, the spell will take it and make that thought come true. The spell takes over your mind and your body. It makes you want to torture the people closest to you, it takes in the things you find irritating about those people and make them the most justifiable reasons for you to torture and kill them.'

Hartia paused, looking from Majic to Cleo, who were both looking a little ill listening to his words.

'And what's worse,' Hartia continued reluctantly in a quiet voice, 'on top of being tortured by your own mind, you are also conscious of what you're inflicting to the people you are hurting.'

There was a long heavy silence in the room as Hartia finished explaining. Majic stared at the sorcerer with a pained look in his eyes, as if willing for Hartia to say that all of that wasn't true.

'You mean, while Master was hurting me and Cleo, he was aware of everything he was doing?' Majic asked in a small voice, sounding like a very young boy.

Hartia nodded grimly.

'Yes, only he didn't have the power to control or stop himself. This is the ultimate form of psychological torture. It's the same as watching someone dear to you being tortured right in front of you and you can't do anything to stop it. But this is worse, because you are watching yourself hurt someone you care about.' Hartia closed his eyes slowly, his freckled face contorted a little as he continued. 'At the same time, Krylancelo… he felt constant pain throughout his body as long as he was under the spell.'

Cleo had her hands covering her mouth, her eyes watering.

'All those while, he was in pain?' she asked, her voice barely above whisper.

'Yes. The pain of thousands of nails constantly piercing into and out of his body. At least, that's what books on forbidden spells say…' Hartia said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair, pulling the escaped strands out of his eyes. He tried to ignore Cleo's gasp and Majic's look of disbelief. 'It wasn't called the forbidden torture spell for nothing, you know…'

Majic stared at Orphen lying there on the bed, oblivious to the world.

'What about now? Is he still under the spell now?' Majic asked frantically when he suddenly thought of that possibility. He couldn't bear to think that his master was still being tortured in his mind even at this very moment.

Hartia turned to look at Orphen, too. The unconscious sorcerer's sleeping face looked so peaceful, it made him look years younger like a teenager. It reminded Hartia of their years at the Tower of Fang when they studied together under Childman.

He didn't answer Majic's question immediately, flipping through the book's yellowing pages as his eyes scanned them in haste. He only stopped after a long while.

'Forbidden spells can only be broken by the one who cast it, or when the victim dies,' Hartia finally said. 'I think Krylancelo understood this too. That was why he stabbed himself with the dagger.'

Majic felt his heart drop to his stomach, and from the choking sound Cleo made, he knew she felt the same as he did. He opened his mouth to ask so many things, but Hartia had started speaking again before he could.

'But… I think, Krylancelo is not under the spell anymore.'

Hartia stood up and sat on the bed next to his friend. He placed a hand on Orphen's face, as if trying to feel whatever his unconscious friend was feeling.

'A-Are you sure? But you said…' Cleo couldn't bring herself to finish her words. She looked so distraught by what Hartia had said earlier.

'From what you have told me, Cleo, Krylancelo returned to his usual self when…' Hartia cleared his throat deliberately, 'when you bit his tongue. I'm not sure about this though, but that was probably the moment the spell broke.'

Majic looked at the redhead sorcerer, confused.

'The spell broke when he got hurt?'

Hartia shook his head as he faced the two people sitting on the floor, placing his arms on his knees.

'No, I don't think a forbidden spell can be easily broken like that. Knowing Krylancelo, he must have been internally fighting like crazy against the spell the moment he was bound by it.'

He let out a chuckle suddenly, strands of his red hair falling over his eyes.

'This is Krylancelo we're talking about. It's hard to forget that he was one of the most powerful sorcerers the Tower of Fang has ever seen. I doubt he'd let some spell, forbidden or not, take over him so easily. I guess, he was powerful enough to fight against the spell from within. But he probably needed external stimulus to break through the spell.'

Majic was starting to understand what Hartia was saying.

'You mean, when Cleo bit him…'

Hartia nodded, confirming what Majic was thinking.

'When Cleo bit him, it made him bleed. In a way, it was some form of an attack on the spell, and that was enough of an opening for Krylancelo to fight back and regain control of himself. But he knew that he wouldn't last long and the spell would take over him once more.'

Hartia looked at Orphen again.

'He said, "I might not die in time", right, Cleo?'

Cleo nodded solemnly.

'I think that was why he stabbed himself. He was sacrificing himself to keep you two alive.'

Cleo was openly crying now, her sobs were the only sound in the room.

Majic shot Hartia a sharp glare. He was hoping that the sorcerer would refrain himself from saying that. He knew Cleo would feel guilty about it.

'But that doesn't mean Master is not under the spell anymore. He's still alive,' Majic pointed out quietly.

Hartia looked at Majic for a long time. He sneaked a glance at Cleo who had just regained her composure. He seemed like he was struggling to do what was right, before shrugging with a sigh.

'He died,' Hartia said matter-of-factly.

Majic stared wide-eyed, wondering if Hartia was making a joke.

'Wha… What do you mean…?'

His master was still alive! Right there on the bed!

'At least, he was dead for a moment. Krylancelo's heart had stopped beating when we got to him, Majic. I… I almost couldn't believe it myself. All I could think of was casting any spell that would make his heart start beating again… I cast a few different healing spells, not knowing if they would do him any good… and…' Hartia sighed loudly, 'and thank God, they got his heart beating again. _Thank God_ … If we were any later…'

'Master's heart had stopped…?'

Majic couldn't believe what Hartia was saying. He felt like he might cry as well. If he had hesitated for even a second more, Orphen might not be there breathing on the bed at all. And he had hesitated _a lot_ that afternoon.

Hartia closed his eyes when he heard Cleo starting to cry again. Of course she would. She held Orphen in her arms all that while. She was too flustered and horrified to notice that his heart was no longer beating.

'I didn't want to tell you this…' Hartia whispered.

Cleo tried to stop herself from keeping on crying.

'… P-poison… The poison… The dagger, it was covered in it…'

Majic heard Hartia let out another heavy sigh. Majic had asked him earlier if he knew what that poison was. According to the sorcerer, it was a rare powerful liquid; rare because it was difficult to concoct and it took a very long time to complete.

'Cleo, I don't think you need to worry about that,' Hartia assured, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. 'True, the poison was powerful, but something like that, I think Krylancelo can handle it pretty well. People would usually have died instantly the moment that poison gets into their system. But Krylancelo, he… He's something else. He's a beast.'

Hartia gave Cleo a smile as he squeezed her slender shoulder gently. Cleo looked up at him and tried to smile back.

'He'll survive this,' Hartia said.

He slid off the bed onto the floor, kneeling before the old opened book and closing it before heaving it into his arm with a soft grunt.

'I think it's best for you two to get to bed and have some rest,' Hartia said. He took a good look at Majic and Cleo and added, 'After I've cast a healing spell on the both of you. I didn't realize how badly injured you two are.'

Cleo and Majic nodded, although the blond boy still had so many things he wanted to ask. Was his master really going to be alright? How did he get himself under an ancient forbidden spell? Did he meet someone while on his way to the mountain range to find herbs? Where did he get that rare poison from? How–

'Majic? You alright?'

Majic blinked. Hartia was shaking him softly by the shoulder. He had already cast a healing spell on Cleo who had just left the room after the sorcerer had convinced her that he would stay with Orphen tonight and that the injured sorcerer would be fine.

Hartia looked at Majic in the eyes, and as if he could read the boy's thoughts, Hartia said, 'I know you have so many questions in your mind right now. I do, too. But I don't think we'll get any answers until Krylancelo wakes up.' He nodded with a small smile when Majic's eyes became wide at his words. 'Yes, I _do_ believe he will wake up.'

Hartia patted the boy lightly on the shoulder and swiftly cast a healing spell on him. Majic immediately felt the throbbing ache at the back of his head easing a little, as if the wound had been healing for about a week.

'Thank you, Master Hartia. I… I'm so glad that you…'

'Now, go to bed, Majic,' Hartia cut him off with a little push on Majic's shoulder.

Majic nodded absentmindedly as he walked slowly towards the door. He stopped for a second by Orphen's bed on his way out of the room.

'Master, don't you die just yet.'


	4. I Hold Thee, Shrew's Dance

Orphen forced his eyes open, his body felt as heavy as lead. He had drifted into an agonizing unconsciousness, and when he came to, he found himself still in the malevolent darkness, hanging by his bleeding wrists that were restrained with chains.

Something had jolted him back to awareness, just in time to pull him back to safety before his mind was washed away to the point of no return in the rapids of pain and insanity. The sorcerer still struggled against the chains that held him in place, although he knew it would do him no good. But even in his weakened state, Orphen could sense that something was happening. He could feel the force of the spell that had him trapped was wavering a little.

_An opening._

Orphen took in a deep breath, ignoring all of the pain he was feeling as he tried to concentrate. He gathered every ounce of strength left in his body, if there was even any, focusing to channel them into a powerful spell that he hoped would break him free from this painful predicament.

'I hold thee, shrew's dance!'

A bright light lit up the realm, chasing the darkness away. It engulfed every inch of the sorcerer's sight, blinding him as he felt the chains break loose. Everything was black for a moment, before Orphen's unfocused eyes took in the sight of Cleo's bruised and bleeding face, pure fear and horror in her crying eyes as she watched him with a painful look, her hands tied to a branch above her head.

_Cleo?_

Orphen immediately understood what was going on, and what he had done to the girl in front of him and to his young apprentice. He had to save Cleo and Majic from himself. Before he could have any doubts about what he was going to do, Orphen cut the rope that held the blond girl prisoner before stabbing himself with the poisoned dagger in his hand.

It was the only way to save them. To save Cleo and Majic. When Orphen collapsed to the ground, his mind was already a mash of blurry things. He heard someone calling out his name again and again, frantic and scared. He wanted to reply so badly, to say not to worry about him, but he had no life left in him to even let out a sound. A sudden cold descended upon him, and Orphen couldn't help but to surrender to it.

_This is for the best…_

.o.o.o.

Tick-tick-tick…

There was a ticking sound in his ears. The Grim Reaper had finally arrived.

_I guess my time is almost up..._

Orphen was resigned to his fate as he waited listlessly for time to stop ticking and the end to come.

_The end, huh…_

He had never thought he would be the one to end his own life, but fate had always preferred to show him its cruel side more than any of its other sides.

The ticking didn't stop, but it slowly turned into a deeper, heavier sound; a low and steady thudding.

His heart was beating, miraculously. But it was weak and seemed like it could stop at any time. Orphen let out a shuddering breath before opening his eyes. All he could see was darkness, and for a moment he was certain that he was still chained in that dark place. A shiver ran down his spine as he braced himself for rounds of sharp pointed nails shredding him, when a dull golden glow caught his eyes.

Somewhere not far from him, the golden glow grew brighter and more brilliant. Orphen stared at it, afraid that if he so much as shifted his gaze away from it, the glow would disappear and he would be left alone and trapped in the darkness again. As time passed and his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Orphen realized that there was an opened window right above the golden glow; the silver moonlight streamed into the room, showering two people sleeping near the window.

Cleo and Majic were sleeping in a sitting position next to each other, resting their bodies against a huge wooden chest placed underneath the window. Cleo had her head cradled in Majic's shoulder, while Majic's head rested against hers. And in the moonlight, their blond hair glowed gloriously golden.

Orphen couldn't believe what he was seeing at first, blinking again and again, before letting out a long sigh of relief, hoping that what he was seeing was not just a dream. He stared at the two again. They looked so peaceful sleeping like that, just like brother and sister.

But even in the darkness, Orphen could make out the cuts and wounds on their faces, reminding him of what had taken place. Reluctantly, he closed his eyes. He was too weak and exhausted to think of the horrible things he had done to the two of them. He shut off his mind and let himself drift back into unconsciousness.

When he opened his eyes again, Orphen noticed that there was no longer any moonlight streaming through the opened window. Cleo and Majic were not there by the wooden chest anymore. He felt a surge of panic rising through him when he realized they were gone, that what he saw earlier was merely an illusion or a dream, and that the two of them were in danger. He tried to get up but all he managed to do was let out a painful scream when he felt excruciating pain all over his body. Orphen lay there, panting, anxious of what was happening. He tried raising his arm slowly, carefully, and it took everything he had in him not to let out another cry.

_Dammit!_

'Krylancelo? Are you awake?'

A voice whispered from somewhere near his feet.

Orphen's body immediately tensed. He looked around with his blurry vision, realizing how out of it he was that he didn't even notice someone sitting so close to him.

'Who's… there?' he croaked, his voice barely a whisper. He was so damn parched.

A lanky man with shoulder-length red hair came into Orphen's view. There was a look of relief and pure joy on his freckled face.

'Krylancelo! You're awake!'

Hartia couldn't help shaking Orphen gently by the arm in delight, only to pull his hand away immediately when Orphen hissed and grunted in pain at his touch. Hartia looked at his injured friend in alarm, wondering if he had hurt him. He had barely put any force in his touch.

'Are you okay? Did I hurt you?' the redhead sorcerer asked concernedly before lighting up the room with the dim light of the night lamp near the head of the bed. His eyes roamed about Orphen's body, checking for any cuts or bruises. But other than the stab wound in his torso, there was none. He had made sure of this when he tended to his friend days ago.

Orphen shook his head weakly. He felt so thirsty but he couldn't even get his voice out to speak anymore. He couldn't help realizing how pathetic he was right now, how helpless and vulnerable. Fortunately, Hartia could guess what he wanted as he quickly poured a glass of water from a jug sitting on the nightstand.

He was about to help Orphen sit up on the bed so that he could drink properly when he abruptly stopped, surprised to see Orphen shaking his head again, his breathing heavy. Hartia looked at his friend's pale face with a frown.

'Does it hurt when I touch you?' he asked.

Orphen could barely nod. He heard Hartia curse underneath his breath before letting out a sigh. There was a pained look on his face, as if he couldn't bear to see Orphen suffering like this.

'Alright. I'll help lift your head up a little so you could drink,' Hartia finally said.

Carefully, he slipped his hand underneath Orphen's head. Orphen winced, but he didn't react as violently as he did earlier, so the redhead sorcerer continued to lift his head slowly. He placed the glass of water to Orphen's chapped, cut lips, tilting the glass little by little to let the water into the injured sorcerer's mouth.

Halfway through, Orphen coughed and choked, and Hartia lay Orphen's head back onto the pillow again before placing the drinking glass on the nightstand.

'Are you alright, Krylancelo?' Hartia asked again when he saw Orphen's breathing had steadied and colour had returned to his face.

'Yeah…' Orphen managed to croak. He didn't sound alright at all. He turned to look at Hartia, a questioning look in his eyes. 'How long?'

'Four days. Almost five,' Hartia answered without missing a beat. 'You didn't even stir.'

'That bad, huh?' Orphen sighed and fell silent for a long while.

No wonder his body felt so heavy. He'd laid unmoving in bed for days, and now, even when he had awaken, he still couldn't move much without feeling so much pain all over his body.

_Why am I still alive?_

He glanced at Hartia who was rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he tried to stifle a yawn, and then at his own bandaged torso. From the way his wound was dressed and the quality of the bandage used, Orphen could tell that a very good doctor had tended to his wound, probably one of the resident doctors at the Tower of Fang. And he could very well tell that it was Hartia's spell that had kept him alive. The redhead might seem like an average sorcerer, but Orphen knew how powerful he was. Only someone with his level of training and skill in black magic could conjure a healing spell powerful enough to prevent Orphen from dying from a wound as severe as the one he had inflicted on himself.

'Aren't you going to ask what happened?' Hartia asked quietly when he realized Orphen was still awake and had not relapsed into sleep.

'I don't need to,' Orphen said, his dark eyes staring far out of the opened window. He could see nothing outside except for the night sky and some clouds reflecting the moonlight, and he was grateful that it wasn't totally dark out there. He didn't think he could handle being in the dark without bracing himself for a while.

Hartia shifted in his stiff wooden chair, the creaking sounded loud in the silent room. He could probably guess the answer to his following question but he couldn't help asking.

'You remember everything?'

'I wish I had fucking amnesia right about now,' Orphen said flatly.

Even in the eyes of his muddled mind, he could see, again and again and again, endlessly, the things he had done to Cleo and Majic, and the tortures he had gone through in that dark place, the feel of those sharp nails never truly leaving him.

Hartia decided to remain silent when he saw the anguish in Orphen's eyes.

'Cleo and Majic… are they alright?' Orphen asked quietly after some time. 'I… I thought I saw them. Or maybe it was just a dream… I saw them sleeping over there by the window.'

The redhead sorcerer smiled.

'They are fine. I don't think what you saw was a dream, Krylancelo. Those two have been hanging around this room for days hoping you'd wake up. They're really stubborn, unsurprisingly,' Hartia commented, glancing at Orphen, 'just like a hard-headed rogue sorcerer that I know. I had to really force them to get something to eat and have some rest.'

'Glad to hear they're giving you a hard time,' Orphen replied with a relieved sigh and a small smile, his eyes closing. That was all he needed to know; that Cleo and Majic were safe. He didn't want to know about anything else anymore.

'Hey, Krylancelo?' Hartia called out before Orphen could drift back into sleep.

'What, freckleface?'

'You know what got you. Right?'

Orphen let out a great sigh. He wished Hartia would leave him alone. He really didn't want to think about anything at the moment, but he answered him anyway.

'A fucking forbidden spell. One of those usually used for torture a long time ago,' he answered, opening his eyes again. He figured he prefer his eyes opened. Keeping them closed was agony; he kept seeing things he didn't want to see. At least beyond the opened window, he could see those silver clouds in the night sky. 'I think I stumbled into that underground chamber you talked about earlier.'

The ancient underground chamber.

It was the reason why Orphen was heading for Taflem to meet Hartia in the first place. About two weeks ago, Hartia had dropped by Totokanta on his way to Taflem to see him. He had eagerly talked to Orphen about an ancient underground chamber that he and a number of his apprentices had located in the outskirts of Taflem near the mountains. They had not explored it though, as there were really powerful ancient spells sealing the hidden entrance and guarding the surrounding area. Orphen wasn't that interested in some old underground chamber, but Hartia had insisted for him to come and have a look at it.

'There isn't anyone powerful enough at the Tower of Fang to undo all those ancient spells,' Hartia had reasoned.

Orphen had laughed without mirth and blatantly declined Hartia's request. The Tower of Fang was chock-full of learned and experienced elders who were powerful enough to do anything they wanted. Hartia could have asked for their help. And he had nothing to do with the Tower of Fang anymore. He had thrown the institution out of his life, why would he want to get himself involved in their problems? He knew nothing good would come out of it.

'I'll pay you, Krylancelo. You can spend two months staying in a top-rate hot spring resort with the amount of money you'll get from this,' Hartia had countered, knowing exactly how to reel him in.

And that did it. That sealed the deal. With the financial problems he often found himself in, Orphen would never say no to that amount of money. And all he had to do was check out some underground chamber and try undoing some spells. A piece of cake. What harm could there be, he had thought. If only he knew how wrong he was.

Hartia leaned back in his creaking chair, thinking. 'I thought so. Your camp was actually not that far away from the underground chamber. But I didn't think you'd go into the mountains.'

Orphen tried shifting his body a little when he felt the pain all over his body gradually lessening. Or maybe he was just getting used to it. But it was easier for him to talk now, and it didn't hurt as much when he moved his arms.

'I was looking for herbs, but there was hardly any that could be useful so I just went deeper into the mountains to find some. I don't know how, maybe because I didn't expect any serious danger there and I'd let my guard down somewhat, but I was led to a quicksand without me realizing it. It was already too late by then. I was already caught in it. And it was not just an ordinary quicksand. It was some kind of entrance to an underground chamber, and I'm sure it was the same one that you talked about.'

'But how did you fall under that forbidden spell? Who cast it on you?' Hartia asked fervidly, leaning forward in his chair. He was really curious now that Orphen had confirmed his suspicions.

'No one did,' Orphen replied curtly.

Hartia stared at him, an apparent frown on his face.

'What do you mean? Someone must have cast it on you, Krylancelo.'

'I don't think so,' Orphen said with a shake of his head. 'I thought it was the end of me when I was fully submerged in that quicksand, but a small hole at the bottom of it sucked me down further and I found myself being spat out into a dark tunnel before I ran out of breath. You wouldn't believe how fucking cramped that tunnel was. I had to inch myself through it. The tunnel gradually opened up though and I could almost stand comfortably in it when I came to its end. There was a big boulder covering a hole in the rock wall. I thought it was an entrance to a cave sealed with a powerful spell. I undid it, because there was no fucking way I could get myself out through the same way I got in. I smashed the boulder out of the way with a spell and walked through the entrance. I should've been more careful. The moment I stepped into that chamber, I triggered the forbidden torture spell to be cast on myself.'

'What?' Hartia said in disbelief. 'Are you saying someone put up a forbidden spell instead of an alarm spell at the entrance?'

'Yeah. Somehow, someone long ago had set up that forbidden spell to be cast on anyone who intruded the chamber.'

'But, to modify a spell, let alone a _forbidden_ spell into some kind of an alarm spell, to be cast only when triggered… you really have to be very skillful, and you really, absolutely need to know what you're doing,' Hartia pondered out loud.

'Yeah, it's really dangerous. Doing this kind of thing could easily backfire and cost you your life,' Orphen said in agreement.

'It must have been someone powerful. Their spell even withstood the test of time and was still very much effective. I wonder what was in that chamber that they were so desperately trying to protect,' Hartia mulled with a hand on his chin. He turned to look at Orphen expectantly. 'Do you remember what was in that underground chamber?'

Orphen didn't immediately answer. He contemplated hard, but as he had expected, his memory of that was fuzzy and somewhat distorted.

'I don't really remember anything about that chamber. It's strange. All I can remember was picking up a leather bottle, but I can't remember _where_. And that was it. I can't even recall _being_ in that chamber. I don't remember how I got out of there. I don't remember making my way through the forest to get back to camp,' Orphen raved as his head started to ache, his mind spinning. 'But… I do remember being held in a dark place, the pain… and what I did to Majic and Cleo…'

Hartia was quiet as he watched Orphen close his eyes. There were beads of sweat on the dark-haired sorcerer's forehead. Orphen wiped the sweat away with a trembling hand before running it through his messy hair, pushing the dark strands out of his face.

'I was held captive in a dark place,' Orphen suddenly started talking again with his eyes closed, much to Hartia's surprise. 'I can't really describe it… It didn't feel real, or concrete. I was constantly trying to get myself out, but nothing I did seem to work. It's really strange… I felt like I was in two places at the same time. I was restrained and was in so much pain, and yet I remember walking around freely… and then I realized I was also the one inflicting pain on Majic and Cleo…'

He let out a sigh and covered his eyes with his arm.

'I remember feeling whatever that held me captive, the fucking forbidden spell, wavering suddenly. I could feel the net holding it together faltering. There was a tear in it. And that was when I cast a neutralizing spell to bring the whole thing down. I wasn't even sure if I was strong enough to break the spell. An then… I saw Cleo's crying face… and I ended up stabbing myself…'

'Krylancelo…'

Orphen heard the sympathy in Hartia's voice, but he ignored it.

'You should have just let me die.'

'Hey, don't say that. Cleo and Majic wouldn't want to hear that from you,' Hartia told him off before letting out a resigned sigh. He kind of understood why Orphen would say something like that.

'Did you think I could just watch you die in Cleo's lap and not do anything? I'm not as heartless as you, Krylancelo. Besides, I wasn't going to let you die so easily. You need to suffer more,' Hartia stopped short at his own words. He meant that as a joke, obviously, but the moment his last words had rolled out of his mouth, hanging awkwardly in the silent night, he wished he hadn't said them. More than anyone else, he knew Orphen had gone through enough suffering in his life.

Orphen lifted his arm away from his eyes, glaring sharply at the redhead sorcerer. And when he saw the conflicted look on Hartia's face, he couldn't help feeling amused.

'Fucking bastard,' he spouted with a small smile, shifting in the bed a little. It was getting harder for him to concentrate on what was going on now, his words slurring a little. 'How did you find me, anyway?' Orphen drawled. He really _was_ curious how Hartia had gotten involved with saving him now that he thought about it.

'It was Majic. Somehow, he appeared in front of me here in Taflem out of nowhere,' Hartia replied with a glint in his eyes.

Orphen turned to look at him slowly, eyes narrowed, as if not believing his words.

'He teleported?'

'Yeah, all the way from your camp in that forest to Taflem.'

'Are you serious? I didn't know he could do that…'

Hartia shrugged, his fingers twiddling with a small knob of the night lamp at the head of the bed. The room gradually became dimmer.

'I think he was just desperate to find someone that could help you, and you know how people can do incredible things when pushed into a desperate situation,' Hartia pointed out with a smile. 'You really should thank Majic, Krylancelo. I don't think you'd be here talking to me right now if not because of him.'

Orphen didn't say anything to that, but somehow, he felt something warm inside of him now that he knew his apprentice had achieved something great.

A sense of pride.

The room turned darker as Hartia watched Orphen close his heavy eyes, a peaceful look on his face. The sorcerer had drifted back to sleep.

'Good night, Krylancelo. I hope your memories won't haunt you in your sleep.'


	5. I Invite Thee, Gate of Origin

The night was quiet, as it always had been this past week. The window of the room remained open, something Orphen was grateful for; to be able to see the sky, whether it was night or day, whenever he awakened dazed and disoriented from his long, drawn out sleep.

Orphen sat at the edge of his bed with his prickly bare feet placed lightly on the wooden floor, staring silently at the figure sleeping cross-legged in the chair next to his bed. Majic had his blond head resting on top of the nightstand pillowed by his scrawny arm, a thick old book left opened in his lap.

The dark-haired sorcerer got off his bed and covered his apprentice with a blanket, his hands lingering a little longer on Majic's shoulders, feeling the warmth underneath his palms. He stood there in the dark for a while, watching Majic sleep like a little kid.

He left the room quietly, the low creak of the door startling him a little. He looked around into the room, worried he'd woken up Majic, but the young man remained asleep. Orphen's heavy feet thudded against the floor, his footsteps sounding loud in the narrow hallway as he headed towards the front door.

Since he had regained consciousness a week ago, the farthest place he had gone to was the bathroom, which was at the opposite end of the hallway he was walking in. He had wanted to leave his room so badly most of the time, so sick he was of the same four damn walls closing in on him. But even if he wanted to, his body could hardly stand moving around so much. The first few days, he had sweated buckets, his body trembling like a leaf just from trying to walk from his bed to the window.

But he was getting better now, his wound was slowly healing. He didn't want to be cooped up in his room all day long, so he somehow convinced himself that he would get better sooner if he moved about and got some fresh air. But Hartia didn't agree. According to the redhead, Orphen was still too weak to move around so much. He was worried that his wound would reopen. And because Hartia knew what a hardhead he was, somehow he would mix into Orphen's water or meals an added portion of a prescribed sleeping drug he had gotten from the doctor. Orphen knew this, but it didn't bother him so much. Sleeping drugs didn't really affect him most of the time, but he wasn't going to tell Hartia that.

Orphen turned the knob of the front door quietly, hoping that it wasn't locked. It turned with ease in the grasp of his hand and the sorcerer let out a breath of relief. He was in no shape to perform an unlocking spell had the door been locked. He took a step out of the door and onto the porch, relishing the cool night breeze caressing his face.

'Finally…' he said to the wind.

His knees were getting a little wobbly from walking a longer distance than they were used to lately, so Orphen proceeded to sit on one of the steps of the porch that led to the driveway towards the entrance gate.

The half-moon was shining bright high in the night sky, bright enough for him to see that his hands were actually trembling. Orphen sighed. Even if he felt like he was good and well, his body betrayed his feelings. He was literally out of breath from that little trip from his room to the porch. He looked up at the moon, wondering when he'd be able to get out of Taflem. He didn't feel at ease staying in the city for too long. He had told Hartia that he wanted to leave the city as soon as possible, but the freckled sorcerer just shook his head with a chuckle, saying he wasn't going anywhere in his current condition.

'Come on, Krylancelo. Don't be so rash. You need time to recover and you know that. Think about Cleo and Majic for once. They're dead worried about you,' Hartia had said one night when Orphen had wrestled him trying to get out of bed when he wasn't supposed to.

Whenever Hartia mentioned Majic and Cleo, Orphen would calm down a little. Since that night he first woke up, Orphen had only exchanged a few words with Majic. With Cleo, none at all. He couldn't bring himself to face any of them. He refused to say anything much to Majic whenever his apprentice entered his room and jovially asked him how he was doing, and he would always pretend to be asleep when it was Cleo knocking on his door.

He felt so guilty about what he had done to both of them. He knew it was technically not his fault; he was under an ancient forbidden spell, after all. But still, that feeling of guilt was not something he could simply brush away and act like nothing happened. He wished Majic and Cleo wouldn't care about him so much. These past days, it was something of the norm that Orphen would wake up startled in the middle of the night from a nightmare or an awful memory. And he would always find either Majic or Cleo by his bed, sometimes awake, most times asleep in the stiff wooden chair. After what he had done, Orphen didn't think he deserved their concern or kindness. He thought he would handle it better if they held a grudge against him, even a little, instead of being concerned about his well-being.

Orphen ran his hands through his messy hair, letting out a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes tight trying to block his memory as the thought of Majic and Cleo brought a surge of guilt inside of him.

'Hate me, dammit!' he hissed through gritted teeth, balling his hands along with his hair. 'I don't deserve to be treated so kindly…'

Just the other night, when he had woken up from yet another nightmare, Orphen found a comforting warmth against the side of his body. Cleo was sleeping next to him in his bed, snuggling close like a house cat with her hand loosely holding on to his arm. It had confused him for a second before he realized what was happening.

Cleo was sleepwalking again.

It had been a while since she last sleepwalked into his bed, but there she was, sleeping soundly next to him without a care. Orphen had lost count and couldn't be bothered to count anymore just how many times he had woken up just to find Cleo curled up in his bed. Cleo sharing a bed with him didn't bother him so much because he just saw it as two people sleeping in the same place. He was sure he didn't do anything to her while they were both asleep and he would always get out of the bed immediately whenever he woke up to find Cleo sleeping next to him.

But what bothered him was that Cleo would always stir and woke up whenever he got out of bed, as if she could sense he was not there by her side, and she would be furious as hell to find herself in Orphen's bed, accusing him of things that they both knew he wouldn't do to anyone. She was the one who got into his bed anyway, and she had the nerve to be angry at him. That was enough to piss him off, too. And as always, they would end up fighting.

But that night when he found Cleo snuggling next to him, holding on to his arm like that, Orphen had stayed in bed, letting Cleo's warmth chase away the memory of his nightmares, and he had drifted back to a peaceful sleep.

He looked up at the moon again. He actually longed for that warmth; he couldn't help remembering how comforting and inviting it was, but he knew someone like him didn't deserve something as wholesome as that.

He wondered how long he could avoid not talking to Cleo and Majic. He was planning to go on a long journey alone once he was well enough to do so, to get away for a while from the comfort of life, from the things that made him want to settle down. He wasn't going to let those he cared about get hurt because of him again.

Hartia seemed to know what he was planning, though. The redhead had asked Orphen if he wanted to join him and his apprentices in their research of the ancient underground chamber once he was fully recovered, but Orphen had said no with a barking laugh.

'I'm not afraid of what's inside that damn chamber, but I'm not going to risk myself getting struck by another forbidden spell,' he had said bitterly. 'I've had my fair share of suffering from it.'

'I thought so,' Hartia had replied knowingly. 'I bet you're planning to leave those two behind without telling them a single thing once you're well enough to get your ass out of here.'

Orphen hadn't said anything to Hartia's words, but it was what he had actually been thinking of.

He wasn't sure if the night was getting colder or his body was just unwell, but he was starting to shiver a little. Maybe he should get back inside, although the thought of painfully making his way back to his room made him shiver even more.

'There you are, Mister Finrandi. Enjoying the night air?'

Orphen didn't immediately turn to look who it was speaking from behind him. The soft voice startled him a little, but not enough to make him lose his composure. And he could very well tell who it was. What he _couldn't_ tell was if she was truly awake. He could guess, though. She had called him by his last name that he had long thrown away, and she had never called him that.

_Sleepwalking again, huh?_

Orphen slowly turned to look at Cleo standing in the doorway in her nightgown. He stared at her, trying to figure out how to get this oblivious, sleepwalking girl back to bed without her waking up. Cleo took a few light steps towards him, giggling.

'Are you thinking that I'm sleepwalking again, Orphen?' she said as she sat next to him on the step.

The sorcerer blinked.

'You're not?'

Cleo clapped her hands a few times gleefully before placing them to her mouth in delight.

'Ah! You finally talked to me!' she said happily.

Orphen looked away when she pointed that out. He heard her let out a laugh, sounding a little too ecstatic about him finally talking to her.

'I know you've been pretending to be asleep whenever I'm around to avoid talking to me, Orphen. I'm not stupid, you know,' she said as she stretched her legs down across the porch steps.

Orphen just kept silent, staring at his callused hands.

'I'm sorry.'

That was all he could say. He didn't look at her. He couldn't. Whenever he looked at her now all he could see was her bruised crying face that he saw just before he stabbed himself.

He suddenly felt Cleo's cool fingertips on his face as she forced him to look her way.

'Look at me, Orphen. I'm talking to you,' she said haughtily, a slight scowl on her face.

Orphen couldn't help noticing the wounds and bruises on her face; they were all mostly healed, but he could still see the yellowing bruises on her jaw where he had grabbed her. And there was still a square of gauze plastered on the side of her neck where he had cut her. And her mouth… he couldn't possibly forget what he had done to it with his own filthy mouth, and the choking sounds she made trying desperately to get away from him.

Orphen closed his eyes slowly, trying hard to block his own memories. When he opened them again, he didn't turn to look away, but he shifted his gaze to something else beyond Cleo's shoulder, at the dark silent shrubs behind her. As he had thought, looking at her and her wounds hurt him. Cleo let go of his face with a sigh and fell into silence. Somehow, watching her being down like this hurt him even more, and the silence was making him uncomfortable.

'How are you doing?' Orphen finally said, his voice soft if not a little hoarse.

Cleo looked up at him with a smile, her blue eyes sparkling. The sorcerer couldn't help but stare at them.

_And I almost gouge them out with a poisoned dagger._

'I'm as fine as ever,' Cleo said brightly, stretching out her arms wide. 'It's great here in Taflem. I've always loved coming here, you know. Taflem is a lot bigger than Totokanta, the shops are so many, and there are a lot of interesting things to see. Hartia has been so nice, too. He's always bringing me cakes and desserts and sweets from all the famous shops in Taflem.' She looked down at her stomach with a little concerned frown. 'I hope I don't get fat from all the sugar, though. Oh, and the other day, he tells me there's a jewelry shop that sells really cute trinkets at really cheap prices! I want to go so bad!'

Orphen just listened quietly as Cleo prattled on. She was her usual self, talking about shopping, eating desserts, sightseeing, but it was hard for him to ignore the fact that she hadn't said a single thing about her cuts and wounds, how they were slowly healing. Like she was deliberately avoiding talking about them. His gaze fell upon Cleo's outstretched legs across the steps. Her nightgown had rode up her legs from her moving around, exposing her slender calves and dainty ankles. They glowed in the light of the half-moon, pale and white.

'How's your ankle?' he asked, cutting Cleo short of whatever she was talking about.

The girl turned to stare at him for a moment, a puzzled look on her face. She followed the sorcerer's gaze and realized what he meant.

'Oh, you mean the sprain?' she asked, bending over to touch her ankle. 'I've forgotten all about it! It's totally healed now. See?' Cleo moved around her foot in exaggeration to show Orphen that her ankle was as good as new. 'Hartia brought a really good doctor to take a look at it. He gave me some ointments and it healed completely after about two days.'

'Good,' Orphen said, short.

Cleo just stared at his face, and he could feel her gaze burning him. He let out a quiet sigh of relief when she finally looked away.

'I'm sorry,' she said suddenly in a small voice. 'It was my fault. You went to the mountains to look for herbs for my sprained ankle. If I had been more careful and hadn't sprained it, you wouldn't be–'

Cleo let out a squeak when Orphen grabbed her wrist suddenly.

'Don't say that. It's not your fault!' he cried. He let her go in a flash when he saw the surprised look in her eyes. It reminded him of her scared face that was etched so deeply in his mind. Orphen ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

'It's not your fault at all,' he continued to say quietly. 'I'm the one to blame. I wasn't careful, and I let my guard down. I was the one who got us all into trouble.'

Cleo let out a small laugh, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

'But that is what we do, Orphen. We always get ourselves into trouble, right? This is no different.'

'This is different, Cleo!' Orphen roared heatedly, making the girl next to him cower in shock. 'This is different... I hurt you and Majic. I could have killed you…' he said in a weak voice, his eyes staring unseeing at his shaking hands. 'If I had killed you… I…'

He stiffened when he felt Cleo's hand on his tensed arm.

'But you _didn't_ kill me, Orphen. You didn't kill anyone,' the girl said to him with a soft smile, her voice gentle.

'I'm sorry,' the sorcerer said quietly, his voice breaking. 'I'm sorry, Cleo…'

Her touch was making him weak. Her gentle voice. He had cut her, violated her, tortured her. After what he had done to her, why was she still there sitting next to someone like him, someone who was a monster?

Cleo softly took his hand in her small ones.

'Don't burden yourself with guilt, Orphen,' she said as if she could read his mind. She placed a hand on his face. 'I forgive you. It's not your fault.'

Orphen looked away, trying to run from her touch, but Cleo didn't let him.

'Even so, I can't forgive myself. Those things… What I did to you, I can never forgive…'

He heard the girl let out an exasperated sigh as she pulled her hands away from him.

'Hey, what's that spell you always use to unlock doors?' she asked out of nowhere.

Orphen slowly looked at her, wondering.

'What?'

'Just tell me.'

'I invite thee, gate of origin…' the sorcerer said in barely a whisper.

He shifted in surprise when Cleo suddenly leaned in towards him and placed her hands over his heart.

'I invite thee, gate of origin,' she intoned in a deeper voice with her eyes closed, trying to imitate the way Orphen had always said his spells. The sorcerer stared at her, wide-eyed. He was about to say something but Cleo put up a finger to her smiling lips.

'Did you hear that?' she asked with a cheeky grin as she looked up at him.

'Hear what?' Orphen continued to stare. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

'That click.'

'Click?'

'The click of a door being unlocked,' Cleo pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing. Her lips curved upwards again into a pleasant smile. 'I've unlocked the door of forgiveness in your heart, Orphen,' she said softly and slid her hands up from his chest to the sorcerer's broad shoulders. 'Don't be too hard on yourself.'

The warmth of Cleo's palms against him, Orphen almost couldn't handle it. It was melting him, making him believe that he deserved her kindness, that he deserved to be forgiven; by Cleo, by Majic. That he should forgive himself.

'It is not your fault, Orphen,' Cleo repeated firmly, her blue eyes looking straight into his dark ones.

Orphen knew he would continue to blame himself for what had happened for as long as he lived. He could never forgive himself nor could he let himself forget about it. But maybe… just maybe this once, just at this moment, he should let himself be forgiven, let himself have this luxury of forgiveness for just this night.

He raised his still trembling hands slowly, and pulled Cleo into his arms, holding her close, savouring her comforting warmth. He didn't deserve this, he knew. But just this night, he wanted to believe in Cleo's words. He felt Cleo's slender arms encircling him, her small hands warm against his back, and he wished this moment would last forever; a wish he knew was impossible. This warmth, this feeling of being home and safe, made him realize that he could never let anyone he cared about get hurt again. And that was why he wouldn't let himself be with them anymore. But that was something for him to think about at another time. For now, having Cleo in his arms, feeling warm and safe, was all he needed.

The sorcerer closed his eyes with a shuddering sigh, whispering softly in her ear.

'Thank you, Cleo.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


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